Best Android phone for Rogers?

Count me as one of the suckers who fell for the HTC Nightmare on Rogers. Hell, I went and bought it outright two months ago and now I'm staring at an orphaned slab that will never get updated. Thanks Rogers! Great job! I'm really enjoying seeing "Removed support for Android 1.5" on my favourite applications in the Marketplace.

Anyway, to the point: I'm willing to cut my losses on this phone and put it up for sale on Kijiji. What I'm wondering is, what other Android options do I have that will work on Rogers? HTC doesn't count--I'm done with them too. This whole "upgrade to an ancient version" fiasco is enough.

I'm aware the Nexus One will work in EDGE mode on Rogers (and I do have a means to get one). I was hoping for Droid but I see Hellus has their claws on that one. What other viable options are there? I would prefer unlocked (which is what Robbers wouldn't prefer, but since I'm buying outright I don't give a crap what they think).

I'm also patient: I'm more than happy to just wait and see. I'm at my wits end with Rogers but I'm not canceling...my contract is there for 3 years and by then the mobile market here in Canada will have either changed completely or be irrevocably cemented in it's current pathetic state.

Chickenhead: First of all, though you are done with HTC, if you bought your Dream with a data contract before Dec 31 you can get a FREE HTC Magic from Rogers as part of their upgrade for Dream owners. You only have from Feb 9 (yesterday) until Feb 14 (Sunday) so call in or go online to get it.

I am suggesting this, even though you say you are "done" with HTC, because you get to KEEP your Dream, so you would have TWO phones, and the Magic WILL be updated to Android 2.1.

The only catch is that your 3 year contract will be reset to start over again from the day you order the phone, however since you get a free $600 phone, and keep your Dream, you could pay the ETF to cancel your data plan, keep your voice plan (or pay the total ETF for both plans, but that's about $600 or $700?) and come out ahead.

I have the Magic, it's a great phone, and it will get Android 2.1

If you decide you don't want to extend your contract to get the free Magic, then I would recommend waiting until the second half if this year. There are a LOT of new Android phones coming to market, at least in the US, and hopefully here as well. These new phones should debut with at least Android 2.0, but most likely 2.1.

Hey thanks for the info...did not know about HTC doing the Nexus. Oh well.

Now, as far as my situation goes, it's a bit complex. I had a Palm Treo (running Wince) prior to my dream. I willingly extended my contract because I was blowing well over my minutes last November and it was costing me a fortune. Robbers wouldn't let me "upgrade" my Treo to a Dream thanks to whatever contract mumbo-jumbo they like throwing at us, so I decided "screw it" and went out and paid full price at future shop for one. So given that, do I even qualify for the upgrade? I did extend my contract, but it is not subsidizing a Dream. I think I'm SOL on this one.

I'm hoping more Android phones appear soon in our market. I'm not happy about the Dream being stuck at 1.5 with Rogers trying to tell us it "provides the best user experience." That's like forcing us to use Windows 3.1 while everyone else is using Windows 7. And I'm serious about Marketplace apps removing 1.5 support...how the hell does this provide us with the "best user experience?"

(Incidentally, there was a 911-related issue with my old Treo. Under certain conditions it could not make 911 calls. Robbers did NOT cut off data and force Treo users to upgrade. I don't believe a word of their claimed excuse for forcing the upgrade on us.)

In your case it might be best to talk to RogersMary via twitter. She might be able to look in to it for you, however I know that the first thing she will tell you to do is ask customer service first as she does not "replace" CSRs.

Call Customer Service, and ask if there is a note in your file regarding an upgrade from an HTC Dream to a Magic.

If they say no, ask them about the upgrade program. They might not know, or might play clueless.

I don't know about you chickenhead, but I really am looking forward to the Xperia X10 from Sony Ericsson. I'll wait it out until May to see if Google announces a Nexus One which will work flawlessly with Rogers. If it does, I will shell out the money and buy unlocked. No longer do I want to have hardware which is locked to specific carriers. My current Magic is unlocked and I like it, like that. I just wish I hadn't done the update, but no point dwelling in the past.

Change needs to come and one of the main things I will change is never again buy a locked phone. Never again go with what the carriers tell you and as my good friend loconet says "Question Everything!".

So for me either it's the Xperia or Nexus One or Motorola Milestone if I can get it unlocked and hack the living daylights out of them if I can.

Well big surprise...called Robbers and ONCE AGAIN was told I'm "not eligible" for something. So i'm "not eligible" for the Magic update.

Let's add that to the list...I "wasn't eligible" to upgrade my stupid Treo. I "wasn't eligible" for the replacement program even though the damn thing's bluetooth was hopelessly broken. But they were more than happy to stick me with another 3-year contract even though they wouldn't give me a phone to go with it.

But this didn't stop the sales idiot from trying to hook me into a "pre-authorized payment program." Of course. I call about one thing, and they use it as an excuse to hook me into something completely un-related...hey Rogers, this kind of bullshit is what I expect (and get) from Bell.

Anyway, to hell with Rogers. I hope you're not holding your breath that Rogers will actually upgrade your Magics to 1.6 or 2.x someday. You may be shocked to find it "not eligible." Or some other excuse--they've got a million of them. But don't you dare question their almighty 3-year contracts! I may just spend the money to entirely cancel my rogers "contract."

So to answer the question, YES: any phone I get henceforth will be rooted, unlocked, and untied. And probably not on Rogers. I don't find them "eligible" for my support in any way at this point. (Hey RogersMary, feel free to pass this on to your supervisors, not that they're likely to give a shit.)

Well big surprise...called Robbers and ONCE AGAIN was told I'm "not eligible" for something. So i'm "not eligible" for the Magic update.

Let's add that to the list...I "wasn't eligible" to upgrade my stupid Treo. I "wasn't eligible" for the replacement program even though the damn thing's bluetooth was hopelessly broken. But they were more than happy to stick me with another 3-year contract even though they wouldn't give me a phone to go with it.

But this didn't stop the sales idiot from trying to hook me into a "pre-authorized payment program." Of course. I call about one thing, and they use it as an excuse to hook me into something completely un-related...hey Rogers, this kind of bullshit is what I expect (and get) from Bell.

Anyway, to hell with Rogers. I hope you're not holding your breath that Rogers will actually upgrade your Magics to 1.6 or 2.x someday. You may be shocked to find it "not eligible." Or some other excuse--they've got a million of them. But don't you dare question their almighty 3-year contracts! I may just spend the money to entirely cancel my rogers "contract."

So to answer the question, YES: any phone I get henceforth will be rooted, unlocked, and untied. And probably not on Rogers. I don't find them "eligible" for my support in any way at this point. (Hey RogersMary, feel free to pass this on to your supervisors, not that they're likely to give a shit.)

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Hey junior, don't like 3 year contracts? Buy your own phone then. No one is forcing you to sign.

Can't afford to drop 500-600$ on a phone, but want one anyway? Then sign on the dotted line.

I DID have a contract. For the Treo. Rogers did very little to honour it other than to extend it...AGAIN...without replacing a broken phone. I DID buy the Dream. As was suggested above, I called Rogers to see what's what. As usual, Rogers let me down. End of story. But don't let that stop you from your holier-than-thou posts, junior.

I DID have a contract. For the Treo. Rogers did very little to honour it other than to extend it...AGAIN...without replacing a broken phone. I DID buy the Dream. As was suggested above, I called Rogers to see what's what. As usual, Rogers let me down. End of story. But don't let that stop you from your holier-than-thou posts, junior.